


small spaces (shouldn't make my heart flutter)

by TheNutcase



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Gay Panic, Humor, Making Out, Oblivious Hope, One Shot, Sexual Tension, apparently, as usual, uh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:48:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26829139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNutcase/pseuds/TheNutcase
Summary: Josie awkwardly cleared her throat and opened her mouth to ask Hope, ‘Why did you just shove me in the trunk?’The words didn’t make it out into the world before there was a vicious growl sounding from somewhere outside. The whole car jerked forward, as though a small bear had just rammed into it.Josie squeaked, the impact forcing her to brace herself against the wall behind her. “What the hell was that?” she whispered, her panic returning in full force.“A Chupacabra,” Hope whispered in reply.Josie wondered why they were whispering.  The thing clearly knew where they were.  She kept her voice hushed when she replied, anyway. “Seriously?”Or,Josie and Hope get trapped in the trunk of a car and Josie gay panics.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 17
Kudos: 459





	small spaces (shouldn't make my heart flutter)

“Ow!” Josie yelped. “What the fuck?”

Josie only had a split second to recover before whoever shoved her in the trunk followed and slammed the hood closed behind them.

Josie panicked, immediately rolling over to try to see who it was.

It was pitch black. There were a few beams of light coming through some mysterious (maybe broken?) crack in the ceiling, but Josie’s eyes hadn’t adjusted yet.

Instinctively, Josie grasped the talisman around her neck and began to siphon from it. The dull red-orange glow of her hand lit up the cabin of the trunk enough for her to identify the figure in front of her.

It was Hope Mikaelson.

Hope reached out, covering Josie’s siphoning hand with her own. “Relax, Jo, it’s just me,” she whispered.

Josie blinked, even more shocked by this turn of events. She stopped siphoning—the trunk faded into near blackness again.

Josie was slowly adjusting to the dim lighting. She could see Hope’s eyes pretty clearly now, due to their proximity.

Hope’s very, very pretty eyes.

Josie averted her gaze. Now was no time for thoughts like _that._

She pushed herself away from the wall and squirmed, trying to get herself into a more comfortable position. She was practically lying on top of a duffel bag.

Josie awkwardly cleared her throat and opened her mouth to ask Hope, _‘Why did you just shove me in the trunk?’_

The words didn’t make it out into the world before there was a vicious growl sounding from somewhere outside. The whole car jerked forward, as though a small bear had just rammed into it.

Josie squeaked, the impact forcing her to brace herself against the wall behind her. “What the hell was that?” she whispered, her panic returning in full force. 

“A Chupacabra,” Hope whispered in reply.

Josie wondered why they were whispering. The thing clearly knew where they were. She kept her voice hushed when she replied, anyway. “Seriously?”

The thing must’ve rammed into the car again, then, because the car lurched once more. Josie felt her back slam against the wall of the trunk. She winced.

“Will it be able to get in here?” Josie asked, her tone a little frantic.

Josie’s eyes had fully adjusted to the minimal lighting by now. She could see that Hope was also sort of twisted into an awkward position, staring intently at the hood of the trunk as though she were trying to see through it.

The monster collided with the car again, but the impact was weaker this time. Some of the tension drained out of Hope’s shoulders. “No,” she said on the back of a relieved sigh. “It isn’t strong enough.”

Josie released her own relieved sigh, but then a thought occurred to her. “Hope, how are we going to get _out?”_ she asked.

Hope frowned, turning to look at Josie directly. “Let’s worry about that later, okay?” she muttered, trying to keep Josie calm.

Looking back on it later, Josie would see this request as a turning point. It was as though Josie's mind had gone blank all of a sudden, like the flip of a light switch.

Worry about it later? What did that even mean?

Part of Josie couldn't fully process the words, but, in a way, they made sense—Josie didn't feel the need to worry about anything anymore. All she could focus on was the way Hope’s lips curled around the words.

Hope’s lips were very, very pretty.

(Almost as pretty as her eyes.)

They looked a little bit chapped today, Josie noticed. But Josie had a feeling that they would still be really soft.

Josie assumed that they were soft, anyway. She'd never been able to find a good enough excuse to touch them.

Josie thought about it sometimes, though—it was hard not to, when Hope was standing right in front of her.

Absentmindedly, Josie wondered if Hope was a good kisser. (She had to be good at it, Josie figured—Hope was good at just about everything; kissing was probably no exception.)

Suddenly, Josie was feeling very strange. Breathing was a little bit harder. She sort of felt like her vision was tapering in at the edges, but it was too dark to tell.

Maybe it was because Hope was so close. 

Close enough that Josie could feel Hope’s breath fanning across her face, warm and smelling like peppermint.

Close enough that if Josie just leaned a little bit closer—

Oh, shit.

The trunk really wasn’t built to have two people in it.

Especially since Josie had been in the middle of packing the car for a beach trip. The trunk was half full of duffel bags. A bulky beach chair forced them even closer together.

The reality of the situation suddenly hit her. She was now contending with a wave of pure, unadulterated panic.

Hope seemed to still be in crisis mode, staring at the hood of the trunk on high-alert as if paying attention would help her to fend off the Chupacabra. Josie couldn’t blame her—the thing was still audibly huffing and pacing outside.

Luckily, Hope seemed completely unaware that Josie had just spent at least half a minute staring at her lips. Josie blinked, counting herself lucky and forcing herself to look away.

There weren’t many places to look, though—the trunk was so small. It felt like Hope was everywhere. Josie ended up just staring intently at a mysterious lever behind Hope’s shoulder, trying to breathe and get herself back under control.

The Chupacabra let out an infuriated screech. Then, it seemed to pack the rest of its energy into one last attempt to get to them. It slammed into the car so hard that the car skidded a few inches across the pavement.

This had the unfortunate consequence of flinging Hope’s body across the trunk like a rag-doll.

Josie let out an _oof_ when Hope collided with her, the wind knocked out of her. She automatically placed a hand on Hope’s hip to steady her.

Josie froze. Her eyes darkened and drifted down to where her hand was resting against Hope’s hip.

Hope’s shirt had ridden up a little bit, so Josie’s hand was flush against her skin.

Josie’s heart seized violently in her chest.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Hope blurted out. Josie flinched, suddenly remembering where she was. “Did that hurt?”

It took a long moment for Josie to process what had just happened. She jerked her hand off of Hope’s hip as soon as she realized that it had been lingering there for a bit too long.

Josie awkwardly averted eye contact, shaking her head in response because she didn’t trust herself to speak.

It seemed to be enough to ease Hope’s worry, at least for a moment.

They sat in silence, Hope listening carefully to any noise coming from outside the car. The monster's huffing and pacing had stopped—it was eerily quiet now.

“I think it gave up,” Hope eventually observed with one last useless glance over her shoulder.

Josie remained still and silent, trying to stay calm and prevent herself from doing anything stupid. She kept her eyes trained on the mystery lever and focused on her breathing—in, out, in, out.

Hope smelled like something woodsy—maybe pine. Josie wondered if it was Hope’s perfume or just her natural scent.

Josie had caught onto the same scent radiating off of Hope in passing before, but in the trunk it was way more potent.

It was overwhelming.

There was something really enticing about it that had Josie fighting to keep her eyes open. She barely resisted the urge to lean closer and breathe it in.

It was making Josie feel a little bit drunk.

And that was not good. Because Hope was still waiting for Josie to say something, and Josie couldn’t even remember the last thing Hope had said.

Hope turned back to look at Josie when Josie failed to respond, only to find the siphoner looking very tense and anxious. “Are you okay, Jo?” Hope asked, her brow furrowing with concern.

Josie was not okay. Josie was not okay at all. 

Hope hadn’t even bothered to move back to her original position; the tribrid had just shifted slightly. There were only a few centimeters of space left between them, and Hope was even more devastatingly beautiful up close.

“Y-yes?” Josie lied. It sounded more like a question than an answer.

Hope frowned, her eyes scanning over Josie’s face. “Are you sure?” she asked quietly, urging Josie to be honest with her.

Josie felt her heart begin to pound, like it was trying to escape from her chest.

There was something about Hope asking her that specific question in the dark, her voice hushed, her tone so caring and considerate. 

Josie squirmed and swallowed thickly, trying to will _those_ particular images away. “I—yes,” she stammered out awkwardly, her throat tight and dry. She felt her cheeks flood with warmth, and she thanked God that it was probably too dark for Hope to notice.

Hope wasn’t at all satisfied by this response. Her brow furrowed, and she studied Josie carefully for a long moment, even as Josie did everything in her power to avoid eye contact.

Hope’s suspicious eyes darted down briefly to glance at Josie’s chest, and Josie wondered if Hope could hear her abnormally fast heartbeat.

Then, Josie realized that Hope probably _could_ hear her heartbeat—wolf hearing, and all.

This only served to make Josie’s heart pound even faster.

Apparently, this made Hope even more concerned. Josie couldn't blame her—she wasn't sure herself if she might be about to have a heart attack.

Hope reached out to hold Josie’s hand again, presumably to comfort her. Josie jumped and let out a little yelp, startled by the contact. She stared down at their intertwined hands with wide eyes, afraid to meet Hope’s gaze.

Hope practically pouted at this reaction, loosening her grip on Josie's hand. “Are you claustrophobic or something?” she prompted gently.

Josie’s eyes snapped back up to stare into Hope’s, startled by her voice. “Hm?” she hummed in response.

“Are you claustrophobic?” Hope repeated, her voice no less gentle.

Josie blinked and cleared her throat, realizing that she was acting very, very strange and should get her shit together immediately. “What? No,” she dismissed, her voice higher than usual. “I’m good—fine, I’m t-totally fine.”

_Smooth_ , Josie thought to herself, resisting the urge to facepalm.

Hope didn’t seem convinced. “Oh. You just seem kind of…,” she trailed off, her brow furrowing as she tried to think of a word. “Panicky.”

Josie’s eyes flickered down to stare when Hope sucked her bottom lip into her mouth to chew on it a little bit. Maybe that’s why Hope’s lips looked a little chapped, Josie thought—maybe Hope had a little nervous habit.

Josie caught herself, forcing her eyes off of Hope’s lips and licking her own when she remembered that she had to reply. “I am _not_ —” she began, before realizing that she sounded very defensive and cutting herself off. She cleared her throat. “I’m not panicky.”

Hope frowned, giving Josie a skeptical once-over like she expected to find evidence to the contrary.

Josie felt a harsh shiver travel up and down her spine, trailing after Hope’s gaze.

It made Josie realize that she really, really needed to calm the fuck down. 

Hope bit her lip again. “Look, if you’re scared about the Chupacabra,” she began quietly. “I won’t let it hurt you, Josie, I promise.”

The concern packed into Hope’s voice made Josie’s heart skip a beat once again.

Briefly, Josie wondered why her name always sounded so much better when Hope said it.

Then, Josie realized that everything sounded better when Hope said it.

Josie's eyes practically glazed over. She finally gave into the temptation to completely zone out, forgetting that she was expected to reply. 

Her gaze absentmindedly drifted down to fixate on Hope’s lips once again, like it was inevitable. They were _so_ pretty, even in the dark lighting—even though they were still a little bit chapped and the corners were tilted slightly downward.

Hope was pouting, Josie realized. Josie desperately wanted to reach out and run her thumb over Hope’s bottom lip to smooth it out. Her shoulders tensed from the effort it took to resist the urge to do so.

“Jo…?” Hope asked warily when the silence extended for too long.

Josie jumped, startled and embarrassed. She blinked rapidly, tearing her eyes away from Hope’s lips to look back at her eyes.

Hope was staring at her, now looking more self-conscious than worried.

Josie cleared her throat. “S-sorry, what?” she asked, her voice a bit huskier than before.

Hope tentatively opened her mouth, but she closed it before she could say anything. They fell back into a thick, heavy silence.

Hope suddenly found herself feeling very nervous. Now that the crisis situation was averted, she had finally switched off problem-solving mode and tuned back into the moment. 

Just to find herself locked in a confined space with Josie, who was acting very strange. If Hope didn't know any better, she might've suspected Josie of being a vampire with the way she kept staring at Hope like she wanted to eat her.

The tension in the air felt so thick that Hope was starting to suspect it was some kind of magical force.

Hope cleared her throat and instinctively licked her lips. Hope watched as Josie’s eyes flickered down to watch for a split second, as though Josie couldn’t even help it.

“I—uh…,” Hope started, her voice a little shaky and uncertain. She swallowed thickly. “Nothing.”

Josie’s embarrassment had at some point blurred into the background again. Her eyes were a bit cloudy and hooded, as if she was in some kind of trance. She took a deep breath, her gaze drifting down to fixate on Hope’s lips again. 

Hope watched Josie’s eyes wander, the butterflies rampaging in her stomach feeling a bit more like a pack of wolves. Her own heart-rate started to spiral a bit out of control, because she was starting to realize what was going on.

Josie shifted a bit and Hope jumped, the sudden movement breaking the extended silence.

For a moment, Hope had been almost certain that Josie was about to lean in and kiss her—something that Hope wouldn’t have necessarily minded.

But Josie seemed to restrain herself, only leaning a centimeter closer at most, her lips parted like she was in a trance.

“You look so pretty today,” Josie breathed without looking away from Hope's lips, sounding as though she hadn’t intended to say anything at all.

Hope tensed. “W-what?” she sputtered, blushing heavily.

Josie gave no sign that she'd even heard Hope’s response. She was so out of it that it didn’t even occur to her that she should probably be embarrassed.

Josie swayed forward slightly before catching herself and stilling with an audible gulp.

Hope’s breath hitched harshly in her throat. They were so close now. If Josie would just allow herself to drift a little bit closer, all of these months— _years_ of tension would—

“Josie,” Hope whispered, her tone breathless and urgent but otherwise unreadable.

Josie finally tore her eyes away from Hope’s lips to make eye contact. She took a few deep, shaky breaths before she said anything. “Hope,” she murmured on an exhale, like it was a warning.

Hope just stared, the silence only broken by their heavy breathing—and, for Hope, the sound of both of their erratic heartbeats.

Hope gulped, closing her hand into a fist when she felt it start to shake a little bit. She cleared her throat, trying to muster up the courage to say something. “Josie, I need…,” she trailed off, her gaze nervously faltering after a moment.

The silence was thick enough to be suffocating, now. And Josie was just staring back at her.

The longer it took for Josie to react, the more worried Hope was that she might be on the verge of a panic attack. She couldn’t exactly blame Josie for not reacting, though—Hope hadn’t exactly made it clear what she was asking for.

But maybe she’d made it clear enough. Because Josie suddenly surged forward, then, with all the force behind a compressed spring, and crashed their lips together.

Hope practically deflated at the impact, the tension finally breaking. Her chest flooded with relief and euphoria, the sensation so overwhelming that she allowed Josie to push her flat on her back by the shoulder without much protest.

Josie straddled Hope before she could even think, using the position to press their lips together even more insistently. Hope let out a pleased hum, slipping her hands underneath Josie's shirt.

Hope ran her fingertips up over Josie's sides and across her ribs, trailing over whatever skin she could reach. The gentle touch was a stark contrast to the frantic kiss Josie was leading her in, but it seemed to spur Josie on nonetheless.

Josie pulled back suddenly, only to lean right back in and plant a hard, lingering kiss at the corner of Hope’s mouth. Hope released a sharp sigh and instinctively trailed after Josie when she pulled away, but Josie pinned her back down by the shoulders and planted another hard, demanding kiss at the corner of her jaw.

Hope practically whimpered, keeping her eyes closed and tilting her head back to give Josie access to her neck. "J-Jo...," she murmured.

Josie pulled back slightly, unwilling to put more than a centimeter of space between them. She blinked, slightly surprised at the show of submission when she found the column of Hope's throat exposed to her like an offering.

She hesitated, hovering over Hope, her breath puffing harshly against Hope’s neck. “I-is this—is—is this okay?” she asked, her words slightly slurring together into a jumbled mess.

“Yes, please,” Hope breathed without hesitation. She splayed her hands out on Josie's back, tugging her closer.

Josie needed no more encouragement. She rocked forward and mouthed at the corner of Hope’s jaw again.

Hope swallowed thickly, her chest already heaving with heavy breaths and tightening in anticipation.

Josie leaned down to kiss Hope's neck. She was gentle at first, mapping out the area thoroughly. Hope released a soft moan and what sounded like a couple broken fragments of Josie's name.

Encouraged, Josie pulled the skin near Hope's pulse point between her teeth. Hope yelped and shuddered as if she'd been shocked.

Josie drifted down to place a lingering, open-mouthed kiss just above Hope's collarbone. Hope ran her hands over the skin of Josie's back as an attempt to ground herself, her breathing ragged and out of control.

" _God,"_ Josie murmured reverently, trailing her lips higher to press them against the skin of Hope's throat once again.

Hope seemed to agree with the sentiment—she practically whined and writhed beneath Josie, pulling her closer by the back of the neck.

Josie breathed in deep. "You smell so good," she whispered into the hollow of Hope's throat, punctuating the statement with another kiss right on her pulse point.

A low, involuntary growl unfurled in Hope's throat. Josie felt it vibrate against her lips before she heard it. She couldn't help but smirk.

Josie pulled back, ignoring Hope's displeased huff.

Hope's eyelids fluttered open when she realized that Josie hadn't yet resumed kissing her for some reason. Josie was staring at her, a self-satisfied smile growing across her lips. Hope's eyes shimmered gold in a few unstable flashes, just as Josie expected.

Hope was moments from pouting and asking why Josie stopped, but Josie swooped down and picked up where they left off, kissing Hope with renewed vigor.

Josie reached down and roughly tugged at the hem of Hope's shirt, pulling it up to expose some of Hope's skin without breaking the kiss. Hope arched her back to help her. Josie splayed a hand over Hope's abs, running her fingertips up toward Hope's chest and then gently dragging her nails down again.

Hope jerked back from the kiss with a gasp in response. She released a harsh, shaky breath and stilled for a moment—then, she threaded her fingers through Josie's hair and pulled her down again, their lips colliding together with a desperate whimper.

Suddenly, there was a sharp _click_ —then, the trunk was flooded with light as the hood opened up to the outside world.

Hope yelped, her head reflexively jerking upward. Her forehead collided violently with Josie's as an unfortunate consequence, sending Josie scrambling backward with a pained yelp of her own.

Josie cradled her head in her hands, wincing. Hope was about to ask if she was okay when they both were reminded that they were no longer alone.

“ _Ew!”_ a high-pitched voice squeaked from outside of the car. Hope looked up to see Lizzie staring at them, looking absolutely horrified, as if she'd just witnessed a murder. “What the _hell_ were you two doing?!”

Hope paled, her eyes widening and her jaw falling slack. She abruptly pushed herself up into a seated position, pulling her shirt back into place and running a hand through her hair to try to fix it (in a manner that in no way helped her case). 

“I—uh," Hope grunted, horrified to find her voice so low and scratchy when it reverberated back to her. She unsubtly cleared her throat. "There’s a… Chupacabra,” she concluded lamely.

This explanation did nothing to change Lizzie's shocked, horrified expression. Lizzie was still staring at Hope expectantly, since she'd been the first one to try to mount a defense. “A Chupa-what now?!” Lizzie practically screeched.

Josie cleared her throat, probably for the same reason Hope had. “A Chupacabra,” she repeated.

Lizzie spun to aim her glare at Josie, propping her hands on her hips in a manner that Hope found very judgmental. “I don’t see how that’s relevant, Josie!” she snapped furiously. “Why were you making out with this supernatural fruit salad in Dad’s trunk?!”

Josie averted eye contact, a harsh blush rising to her cheeks.

Hope cleared her throat, deciding to attempt to come to Josie's rescue. “I—we—”

“Josie, you were supposed to be packing for the beach!” Lizzie cut Hope off, not even attempting to listen to what Hope had to say.

“I was!” Josie yelped defensively, finally hopping out of the trunk and crossing her arms over her chest.

Lizzie scoffed like that was the most absurd thing she'd ever heard. She flung an arm in Hope's direction without even looking at her, as though she were gesturing to Exhibit A. " _Clearly_ , you were _not!"_

Josie frowned, her blush worsening. "Yes, I was!" she insisted weakly. "I just... I... well, I got side-tracked."

Lizzie tilted her head to the side and pinned Josie with a look that screamed _no shit._ "Yeah, well, I _see_ that!" she snarked with an even harsher glare.

Hope scowled, scrambling out of the trunk herself to once again come to Josie's defense. "Stop yelling, Lizzie," Hope snapped. "She might have a concussion."

Lizzie spun around and scowled right back at her, giving her an unimpressed glare. "She _must_ have a concussion, if she had the bad judgement to make out with _you_ ," she deadpanned.

Josie rolled her eyes. "Lizzie, stop it," she commanded, stepping forward to grab Hope's arm. She started walking toward the school, turning her back to Lizzie and dragging Hope along with her. "We're going to go get the rest of the bags."

"And by that you mean you're going to go make out in a broom closet!" Lizzie called out after them sarcastically, her hands once again propped on her hips as she watched them walk away.

Josie only looked over at Hope when she was certain that they were out of Lizzie's sight.

Hope stared back at her, apparently still very disoriented and uncertain of herself.

Josie couldn't help but burst out laughing.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all, hope you liked it.
> 
> Follow me on Twitter @Th3Nutcase
> 
> If you enjoyed this, I've written other things that you might like—check out my other work.
> 
> Let me know what you think!


End file.
